strait-lace

[ streyt-leys ]

/ ˈstreɪtˌleɪs /

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See synonyms for: strait-lace / strait-laced on Thesaurus.com

to bind, confine, or restrain with or as if with laces.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1630–40; back formation from strait-laced

They lifted her up, and when they saw that she was laced too tightly, they cut the stay lace in two.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her|The Brothers Grimm|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
More items came in time, as funding was available, like a slit-and-lace-up jacket and a line of boxer underwear.
Look Who’s Wearing The Pants: Haute Butch’s Gender-Blending Style|Nina Strochlic|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
About $10 billion was earmarked to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, with its unpredictable currents during spring floods.
Putin's Crimea Is a Big Anti-Gay Casino|Anna Nemtsova|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And no amount of fancy lace could ever have competed with the joy of sleep.
Dita Von Teese, Keep Your Hands Off Our Boobs|Emma Mahony|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

One 1918 example, in wispy silk chiffon and lace is even trimmed in mink!
What Lies Beneath: How Lingerie Got Sexy|Raquel Laneri|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On his head was the second-hand hat of some parvenu's coachman, gold lace, cockade and all.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
C was a Captain, all covered with lace; D was a drunkard, and had a red face.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Ramona had covered the box with white cloth, and the lace altar-cloth thrown over it fell in folds to the floor.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
She rose impatiently and bathed her eyes before ringing for the maid to lace her for dinner—it was long past tea-time.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
She still wore the shabby lace and the artificial bunch of violets on the side of her head.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin